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The next minute was a starry-eyed blur. My hands groped Haley all over while I came, and when I was no longer paralyzed by the force of the orgasm. I descended on her, covering her in kisses until I could hear her giggling.
I opened my eyes to see her smiling up at me, cheeks pink and pure joy on her face.
I pecked her once more on the lips.
“I’m holding you to that promise,” she whispered. “Every night.”
“I’m a man of my word,” I rumbled back, stroking her face. “Now and forever. I never want you to doubt that again. Never.”
“I won’t,” she whispered. “Never.”
Epilogue
HALEY
“Which tablecloth do you prefer: the white or the silver?” asked Kat. I turned back to look at her, my hand resting on my stomach. She held up two neatly-folded tablecloths for me to choose between. I squinted and bit my lip, considering them.
“I think the silver is a little fancier, right?” I remarked, grabbing for the silver one. Kat pulled them both away and raised an eyebrow.
“No, no. You just sit. Beverly and I will take care of it. You need to rest,” my sweet front desk clerk insisted. I giggled and gave her a spontaneous hug.
“Kat, I’m not an invalid. I can walk around and put up decorations just fine,” I assured her, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She shook her head firmly.
“Nope. Go sit in your chair over there. You can dictate whatever you want from over there. We can handle it,” she commanded, guiding me across the room to my armchair. It was specially designed by my own whims, my own taste. The head interior designer and I clicked on every level, and in the past year I had spent a lot of long brunches and dinners poring over plans and blueprints and patterns with her. It was amazing, finally getting to put my own touches on the resort. While my father’s vision for the place had been truly a sight to behold, it was time to accept that his presence and influence over the Peppertree was ending. It was my time now to make the place suit my tastes, have it reflect who I was.
It had been a year since Chase and I married each other in that last-minute, sloppy Vegas wedding. I had fallen so hard, so fast, and I knew I was lucky to have had Chase there to catch me as I fell. The last several months had been some of the best of my life, and I had Chase to thank for that. Now, it was our anniversary, and I wanted to do something special for him.
Beverly came over and tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up, breaking out of my deep thoughts, and gave her a smile. “Hmm?” I murmured.
She grinned. “God, you look happy,” she commented. Then she added, “What’s on the menu for your fun anniversary dinner?”
“Well, you know how a million years ago we had that fantastic French chef working down at the lodge restaurant? He was a friend of my father’s,” I told her.
She nodded, looking confused. “Yeah. Didn’t he quit after your dad passed?”
“Yes, he did,” I sighed. Then I perked up. “But a few months back I gave him a call. He had gone back to Paris to teach at some famous culinary school there, but he was bored and tired of city life. As we were talking, I started to get the sense that he wanted something different. So I worked up the courage to ask him back.”
“Oh wow,” Beverly said, sitting on the couch beside my chair.
“Yes. It was pretty nerve-wracking. I mean, Chef Louis is a big deal, both here and in France. But after some discussion, he agreed that coming back to the Peppertree might just be the change he was craving,” I explained. “So he came back, and along with the other Michelin chef we hired seven months ago, he’s been helping to train our kitchen staff.”
“That’s great, Haley!” she exclaimed. “So all the people you already had got a free, Michelin-star education in the culinary arts?”
I laughed. “Pretty much. I’m really proud of them. They’ve all learned so much. Of course, my two chefs will stay in control of the kitchen for the time being, but all my staff have learned how to do things the right way. Chef Louis taught Lauren, one of our line cooks, how to make this really nice beef bourguignon. I’m so amazed at how far she’s come. I mean, I saw the potential in her when I hired her years ago
, but she’s really come into her own. It takes a lot of guts to handle criticism from Chef Louis-- he can be a little harsh sometimes, and Lauren is so quiet and shy I worried she might crumple under the pressure. But actually she’s become kind of his pet project. So tonight, she’s making that dish for us, and Chef Louis is providing his special fougasse with olive oil and sundried tomatoes.”
“Damn,” she swore, “that sounds good.”
“You’re telling me,” I laughed, patting my belly.
“I bet everything sounds pretty great to you right now,” Beverly added with a smile. “You know, you’re not even showing yet. Has that crazy hunger kicked in already?”
I nodded. “Yes. Yes, it has,” I assured her firmly. She giggled.
“And he doesn’t know?”
“Not yet, no. I wanted to wait until I was super sure before telling him. I didn’t want a false alarm or anything. That would break his heart,” I explained.
